Like many others, my childhood was marked by the nightly bedtime story as I dozed off to sleep. These stories were serious business. I recall possessing resentment towards characters for their poor decision-making or uninformed responses. It pained me to hear some stories again; it was as if the characters made the same bad decision twice. The thought of what I would do differently entered my young mind many times. Perhaps this was why "choose your own adventure" books had me enthralled. Although the characters were trapped within the pages, I was the director of their destiny. Despite the simplification of choices in a "Door A or Door B" model, I felt empowered and assumed responsibility for the main character. His or her fate was tied to my decisions.

Bedtime Stories is the creative product of an imagination gone wild. What if, rather than being confined to a two-door model, children possessed the ability to alter the story entirely? The end result is a fantastical tale of for all ages. For anyone who has ever sought to write his or her own tale, young or not-so-young, this is a movie anyone with an imagination and a knack for storytelling can appreciate.

The movie follows the hard-working but often times trampled Skeeter Bronson (Adam Sandler). Skeeter is the son of Marty Bronson, the founder of the Sunny Vista Hotel. When Skeeter was still just a child the hotel was sold to a successful businessman, Mr. Nottingham. Now in his thirties, Skeeter fails to receive the managerial promotion despite his life-long commitment to the Sunny Vista Hotel. Disappointed and hurt, he offers his young niece and nephew a tailor-made bedtime story symbolic of his own misfortunes. Strangely enough, some of the very suggestions they offer to the story come true the following day for Skeeter Bronson.

With this revelation, Skeeter realizes the power his niece and nephew have over life. Yet will he attempt to manipulate their power, or can he? The life of luxury and unearned power is one void of adventure and magical twists or turns. Now Skeeter must allow himself to become the hero worthy of a good bedtime story!

Similar to Paul's urging to the church at Philippi to "work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it God who at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure," Bedtime Stories carries certain implications: work out your own story, but know that something (or someone) bigger than you has ultimate control. I think that Bedtime Stories is a magical reminder of our control over our destinies while at the same time a humbling reminder of our lack of control. It's a paradoxical life we live and sometimes it's a movie that reminds of us of such.

Bedtime Stories is now available on DVD. One of the packages includes a Blu-Ray / DVD combo and an added digital copy for compatible devices, which I thoroughly enjoyed! For those of you looking for multiple formats, this package may just be for you.